Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) - SW [S - P3] - Basic (’04 #10)

Lurking in the shadows of the Hutt’s palace was Tanus Spijek, a former spy for the Rebellion. He was hired by the Alliance to carry messages between Alderaan and the Rebel base on Yavin 4. Spijek was an Elom, a primitive, peaceful species sympathetic to the Rebellion after their enslavement by the Empire during the Galactic Civil War.

With “anus” in his name and boobies on his chest, we don’t know if the joke is on us or Hasbro for creating such a vile alien from Jabba’s palace and sail barge. We jest. In actuality, Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) is indeed a very nice action figure and he is a long-awaited character that collectors have waited a very long time to see realized in the basic figure line. As Hasbro changed its focus from Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones to the Original Trilogy, collectors fans of Episode VI benefitted the most as multiple waves of figures focused on this chapter in the Star Wars saga. Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) is a truly welcomed release in the Star Wars “Saga” line and it goes without saying how impressed we are that Hasbro created one base sculpt to make both him and J’Quille (Jabba’s Sail Barge). Not only did they utilize the same base sculpt for both figures, they released them sequentially in the Star Wars “Saga” basic figure line and in the very same case assortment. The efforts are certainly appreciated that Hasbro brought two incredible aliens from Return Of The Jedi at the same time, but it is Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) that is the true benefactor of the sculpt. Although also used for J’Quille (Jabba’s Sail Barge), the proportions weren’t perfect for this character so the authenticity of the J’Quille figure is indeed a bit compromised. Whiphids are taller and “thinner” and less rotund creatures, albeit strong and muscular, whereas Eloms are slightly more rounded in the torso and bulkier by nature. Still, the recipe is more than passable and this body type works for both creatures.

The immediate feature that grabs you on Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) is his head sculpt. It is fantastic. There is no other way to put it. It’s an exact replica to the mask of the costume from Return Of The Jedi. As we have mentioned earlier, it appears that this body sculpt was originally intended and designed for Tanus Spijek. J’Quille’s similar body type and familiar limbs reaped the benefits for collectors to see a Whiphid created so closely to Tanus Spijek. Obviously, additional parts had to also be tooled to make the creatures appear unique from one another and Hasbro did a great job at “masking” their similarities. In fact, they’ve done such a splendid job with hiding their similarities that you may not even notice they’re mostly the same sculpt. That is quite impressive and we’re astounded that Hasbro put so much clever thought into the engineering of these characters. In addition to an all-new head sculpt, Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) also has a unique torso/waistline attachment. This “add on” portion of the figure reaches from the center of his chest to the tail on his posterior. It’s one molded piece that is permanently tacked to the figure itself, almost like a puzzle piece. As already uttered, it’s a brilliant collaboration of old and new and we’re thoroughly impressed with the results. The extra piece doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the sculpt, nor does it look like it was shoddily placed to hide or cover the parts that are the same. But we're still unsure why Hasbro had to paint areolas on this figure when it was clear enough they added breasts. Hasbro sometimes crosses the line and we'd say this would be a case in point of that.

Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) also comes with the same weapon and generic action figure display stand as J’Quille (Jabba’s Sail Barge). Why Hasbro felt the need to add a weapon with this character is unknown, but then again we have received a ton of cantina aliens and other Jabba’s palace denizens with weapons we didn’t see either, so all is good. Whether you’re planning to round out a Jabba’s palace diorama or set up a scene in a nonexistent sail barge, Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) is the perfect candidate to do either with because he is quintessentially Original Trilogy as he is a cool alien from Return Of The Jedi. He may not have the best articulation, but the sculpt is pretty much excellent and he is one check-mark off of your “to be made” list. With ten points of swivel articulation, Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) isn’t the most mobile alien Hasbro has ever created, but he fills an important void until the day when Hasbro can bring us a definitive version, which in our opinion isn’t very likely. Action figures like this tend to be one-off releases and rarely, if ever, find another spot in the basic action figure line. Part of a wave of figures that focused on scenes from Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi, Tanus Spijek (Jabba’s Sail Barge) was relatively easy to acquire at retail. His wave mate and partner with shared part J’Quille (Jabba’s Sail Barge) proved a little more difficult to find interestingly. Whatever your verdict is, we have to credit Hasbro for the way they approached these figures, and we think it was a great that they utilized one sculpt to bring the collecting community two for the price of one (for them, not us).